


Not a Hero and Not a Prince

by amitiel



Category: FFXV - Fandom, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: First Fight, Flirting, Gay, Insecurities, Lover's Quarrel, Lovers, M/M, Making Up, Misunderstandings, Reconciliation, nyxnoct
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25634794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amitiel/pseuds/amitiel
Summary: Lately Noctis has been feeling insecure about his relationship with Nyx. He doesn't believe anyone when they tell him that Nyx is a flirt. Until he sees him flirting with two women outside the Citadel...
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Nyx Ulric
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	Not a Hero and Not a Prince

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blackstyx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackstyx/gifts).



Noctis was in love. It wasn’t hard to see, although he knew that Ignis and Gladio were a bit worried about the man he was in love with. He’s a flirt. He’s a glaive that’s just trying to get into your pants. We’ve heard him talking amongst his friends. They were all the usual worries that Noctis anticipated, especially since their relationship started out with harmless flirtations that developed into something more serious. Nevertheless, Noctis knew Nyx. He knew just how much he cared, really cared. So he knew there was no way that Nyx would cheat on him. Or at least he hoped that wouldn’t happen. 

There were other worries to consider that made Noctis insecure, although he tried to push that aside. With the considerable age gap, Noctis had a hard time getting used to hanging around Nyx and his friends, relating to them, and feeling at ease. Eventually, though, he understood their style of interacting and was able to get on board with it, even going so far as to enjoy meeting with them in Little Galahd, although he kept that part a secret. Ignis and Gladio didn’t need to know that their princely charge was off running around the boroughs with his older boyfriend.

The feelings of inadequacy wouldn’t easily go away, though. Nyx wasn’t rich by any means, but he had a wealth of life experience that Noctis would never have just based on the life he was born into. Noctis felt like he was too clingy with Nyx, preferring to hold onto him whenever possible, terrified that if he let go then Nyx would just disappear from his life. It made him feel desperate in a way that he didn’t necessarily anticipate, but Nyx only held onto him and comforted him through gentle touches that he desperately craved.

Perhaps that was why Noctis felt the need to overcompensate at times. Anytime they went on a date, Noctis paid for it, even if it was Nyx’s idea. Noctis did what he could to spoil Nyx, taking him to fancy restaurants that he wouldn’t ever go to otherwise, bringing him along to events and concerts that Nyx couldn’t otherwise afford. Noctis was frankly exhausted from it, but he felt like he had to prove to Nyx that he was worth being with. He didn’t want Nyx to leave him because he expected more from a prince, so Noctis resolved to give him more before he had a chance to ask for it.

Everything came crashing down one day when Noctis was walking down the steps of the Citadel to try and find Nyx on duty. He spotted him nearby, on a lunch break by one of the many food carts that worked their way around the Citadel to feed passerbys and tourists. The closer Noctis got to Nyx, the more he could see him speaking with two young women, both beautiful and giggling. Then he heard him, and his heart sank into his chest.

“You know,” Nyx was telling them as he grabbed his skewers for lunch. “Two fine ladies all the way from Lestallum such as yourselves should really have an escort. Someone who can show you the ropes of a big city like Insomnia.”

“Well what do you have in mind?” the blond one asked, shimmying a little bit through her giggle. She reached out and touched Nyx’s arm, her finger tracing down to the cufflinks on his uniform jacket. Noctis felt a flush rise to his cheeks as he watched the scene unfold. “Are you looking to show two lonely girls around?”

Nyx didn’t respond. He didn’t have time to. He was grinning at the women before his eyes flickered over and saw someone out of his peripherals. Noctis watched, as if in slow motion, as Nyx caught his gaze, his smile immediately turning to shock and concern. Tears gathered in the corners of Noctis’s eyes, and he felt his heart breaking far more than he ever anticipated. Yet he couldn’t move, couldn’t even think, his eyes transfixed on his boyfriend who was openly flirting with two women before his very eyes.

“Oh is that the prince?!” one of the women asked excitedly, either willingly ignorant or completely blind to Nyx’s gaze and Noctis’s pain. “Do you know him? Can you introduce us?”

Noctis had a sudden impulse then, and he knew he was about to be petty, but he couldn’t help it. Gladio and Ignis were watching him, not stopping him, likely knowing that once Noctis was on a mission, there was no stopping him. He walked down the steps of the Citadel and straight towards Nyx with the two of them, offering a princely smile as his pettiness and spite took over.

“Ladies,” Noctis said as he looked at them. “It looks like you’ve found yourself in capable hands to show you the city. Do you know what they call him? They call him the Hero.”

“Oh really?” one of the women asked, her eyes wide as she looked back to Nyx. Nyx looked like he wanted to say something, but Noctis was plunging straight ahead, not wanting to give him even a moment to derail the conversation. “Is he your hero too?”

“He’s everybody’s hero,” Noctis replied, glaring at Nyx. “Except mine. Enjoy you three.”

Hurt, devastated, and in heart wrenching pain, Noctis stormed off. Someone called out behind him, likely Nyx, but he took off running, not wanting to be anywhere near him now. At one point he heard footsteps trailing behind him, and he didn’t stop to see if it was Gladio or Ignis. If it was, they would know how to keep up.

Instead, he warped away from the scene, vaulting himself onto the top of a nearby roof before taking off again, his tears threatening to overtake him. Noctis clutched at his heart as he ran, the pain of his hurt making his body ache from his shoulders to his toes. He went to the only place he could think of at that moment, the only place where he knew that he would be left alone. Noctis warped his way to the top of the Citadel where the Crystal was on display, a place that he and Nyx would often go to in order to just be alone together. 

Not many people went to see the Crystal, especially since it was proudly on display out in the open at the top of the Citadel. They had discovered that it was a great place to look out over the city, and make out under the stars, without having to worry about being interrupted or put on display. Noctis felt like he could just be himself there, a feeling that he had felt diminishing lately with Nyx. He told himself it was all his insecurities, all in his head. Little did he know that all of the warnings he had been given were actually right.

_Hey Ig. I’m with the Crystal right now._  
It’s quiet and I’m the only one here.  
I just need time alone. Thanks. 

Noctis sent the text to Ignis preemptively, knowing that they would be following him and looking for him. When he received a text back from Ignis, telling him to be safe and to talk to him when he was ready, Noctis knew that he would be on his own for a while yet. Sighing, he sat with his feet hanging over the edge of the Citadel, dangling freely as he rested his arms on the railing. He laid his chin on top of his hands, looking out over the city as he cried, wondering how he could be so foolish to think that Nyx actually liked him for who he was.

“I knew I’d find you here,” Nyx said behind him, a flash of blue light alerting Noctis that his solitude had been interrupted after enough time for the sun to begin to set. Noctis didn’t bother to turn around, didn’t bother to respond. “Noct, can we talk? I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“What’s there to misunderstand?” Noctis asked, Nyx’s footsteps drawing nearer. “You were flirting with two girls. I’m not blind. I saw everything.”

“I was trying to hook them up with Pelna and Luche,” Nyx replied. Noctis felt a pang in his heart. He wanted it to be true, but he couldn’t believe it. Not when so many had told him that Nyx was openly a flirt with so many people. “It didn’t mean anything.”

“Then why even do it if it didn’t mean anything?” Noctis demanded, turning to look at Nyx before he could sit next to him. “It’s not like it’s the first time someone has caught you flirting since we started dating. I chose to ignore them because I thought that there’s no way you’d do that to me.”

“I’ve never cheated on you,” Nyx replied, although that didn’t really address Noctis’s accusations. “I wouldn’t do that. I mean, you treat the relationship like it’s nothing to worry about, so I didn’t think you were even taking it seriously.”

“What are you talking about?” Noctis asked, standing up to face Nyx. He was taller than the prince, more overtly muscular, but somehow not as intimidating. Perhaps it was the magic that flowed through Noctis’s veins. Or perhaps it was the memory of all the times Nyx held him that made it impossible to see him in such a different light. “I’m not taking it seriously?! Are you kidding me right now?!”

“Every time we go out I’ve wanted to do things for you and spoil you and you won’t let me. You act like it’s all on you and like we’re just friends hanging out. Outside of the moments where you just hang onto me, you don’t even act like my boyfriend! And when I ask you if everything is okay you only say that things are fine. What am I supposed to think?!” Nyx looked at Noctis with a bewildered hurt. It was the moment that Noctis realized that he really missed something important between them, but right now he was too angry to consider it.

“Really?! Because when I’m around you and your friends I feel like such an outsider that there’s no way I could ever fit in with you guys! And then you go and flirt with anything that moves behind my back. Who is the one who isn’t taking it seriously, huh Nyx?!” Noctis was fuming at that point, his temper about to boil over, and he turned around and took a deep breath to compose his thoughts for a moment. “I’ve only ever tried to be with you and give you what I thought you wanted.”

“What do you think I want?” Nyx asked him, his tone softer now. “What am I missing, Noct?”

Noctis gripped his own upper arm tightly, trying to ground himself as he steadied his breathing. A moment later he felt Nyx’s hands on his shoulders, both comforting and painful. What if this was the last time that Nyx touched him at all? What if their first argument was also their last?

“You want what everyone else wants,” Noctis said with a sigh, giving up and giving in. “You want a prince. That’s what everyone wants from me. To be spoiled and lavished with gifts and shit. No one wants me. They just want what I can do for them. And it’s not enough. It never is. You’re the first person I fell in love with, the first person I thought that I could be in a serious relationship with. But… you’re just with me for the things I give you, and as soon as I’m out of sight you go and flirt with everyone else.”

“Oh Noct,” Nyx said, a pain in his voice that Noctis hadn’t heard before. He dared to turn around and look at the man he had fallen in love with and noticed that Nyx’s eyes were brimming with tears. “I don’t want that. I thought you were trying to show off, to give me all this shit because you wanted to be flashy and weren’t taking it seriously. You were doing all that because you were insecure?”

“Of course I’m insecure,” Noctis replied, his tears spilling over on his cheeks. Nyx lifted a hand and gently wiped away a tear with his thumb. Noctis closed his eyes, willing the pain to go away in place of the gentleness, despite Nyx’s calloused hands. “You’re older than me, cooler than me, and have so many friends. Everyone who has ever wanted to date me has wanted me because I’m the prince. They want what I can do for them. I just thought… I thought with you it would be okay because at least I would be giving someone I love the stuff that makes you happy.”

“Noctis, I’m sorry,” Nyx agonized, pulling Noctis into a tight hug, his arms around his shoulders as he held him close. Noctis buried his face into Nyx’s chest, his arms around his waist, the tears flowing before he had a chance to stop them. “Maybe I didn’t take it seriously enough. Maybe I just kept doing what I was always doing because I was afraid that you would realize I’m not enough for you one day. I guess we both have the same fears. I guess I felt like I had to be detached because of course that would happen.”

“I love you, Nyx,” Noctis said, pulling away just enough to look up at him. “I’ve always thought that I wasn’t good enough for you.”

Nyx let out a laugh, a breathy laugh that was indicative of his disbelief. “But you’re… perfect.”

“I’m not perfect,” Noctis argued. “I’m a dork who likes to fish and play video games and stay up too late. I don’t like being a prince, and I hate the fact that no one can see beyond the crown and think I’m some stuck up guy who acts like I walk on water.”

Nyx looked at him in confusion, and Noctis anticipated the worst. He anticipated hearing that Nyx was disappointed that he wasn’t the noble prince everyone thought he was. “But that’s perfection to me.” He paused as if trying to form a coherent sentence. “I didn’t treat the relationship like something to be treasured, and it made you try too hard to be something you’re not. I’m sorry, Noctis. Let’s try to be better at this in the future. This... communication thing.”

“I’m sorry too,” Noctis replied. “I let my insecurities get the better of me and wasn’t upfront and honest with you. I really do suck at this.”

“So do I,” Nyx laughed. He smoothed a hand through Noctis’s hair before kissing him lightly on the lips. “I love you, Noctis. Not Prince Noctis. Just you. I won’t treat this relationship so lightly anymore.”

“I love you, Nyx,” Noctis replied. “And I won’t let my insecurities get the better of me. Well… I’ll try. No promises.”

Nyx smiled and kissed Noctis again, his lips lingering for a much longer time now. “You know, this is our first argument. I heard the makeup sex afterwards tends to be really good.”

“I guess you’ll just have to find out,” Noctis teased before kissing him again. “I’m still mad at you for flirting with those women. Were you really trying to hook them up with Pelna and Luche?”

“Actually, I was,” Nyx replied, a sheepish blush on his face. Noctis flushed red, suddenly feeling far more foolish than before. “But the moment they saw you, they thought no one could compare. What a cockblock.”

“Whoops,” Noctis said, feeling more than a little guilty. “Sorry I jumped to the worst conclusion and said some harsh things.”

“It’s okay. I don’t want to be your hero,” Nyx said, confusing Noctis. “I just want to be yours.”

Noctis was about to comment about how Nyx was sometimes too smooth for his own good, but instead he just smiled and kissed him again. “I know that I have a lot to work on, but I’m grateful that I have you to help me with it.”

“I’m no different,” Nyx murmured. He released Noctis, only to put his arm around his shoulders and direct him towards the elevator leading down within the Citadel that was seldom used, save for special occasions. “So when are we going to go fishing? I want to see you in action.”

“We could always go camping next weekend,” Noctis recommended, feeling so much better now that they had cleared the air. There was more to work on, but right now things were okay. They were more than okay. They had been able to work through things that they needed to with minimal damage. “I’m sure Prompto would be more than happy to have someone else keep me company while I fish.”

“Keep you company?” Nyx asked in amusement. “No, I’m going to fish with you. We’ll see who catches more.”

“You’re on.” Noctis grinned. Things might not be perfect, but with Nyx he had a feeling that they would be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Noctis "I'm going to warp out of here in a dramatic fashion" Lucis Caelum and Nyx "I'm such an idiot what the fuck" Ulric.
> 
> I considered just Noctis seeing the flirtation then bringing it up later but then I thought that Noctis would panic and be much more dramatic about it and this was the result.
> 
> Thank you to blackstyx for the prompt and your constant support! I hope you enjoyed these two dudes not knowing how to communicate until it's almost too late. XD


End file.
